Climate Agreement Adopted
After all, instead of giving China and India a passport to pollution, as Trump claims, the pact is the first time these two major developing countries have agreed on concrete and ambitious climate commitments. Both countries, which are already poised to be the world leader in renewable energy, have made significant progress towards achieving their Paris targets. And since Trump announced his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the deal, the leaders of China and India have reaffirmed their commitment and continued to implement domestic policies to achieve their goals. The Paris Agreement is a historic environmental agreement adopted by almost all countries in 2015 to combat climate change and its negative impacts. The agreement aims to significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the increase in global temperature this century to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while looking for ways to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees. The agreement contains commitments from all major emitting countries to reduce their pollution from climate change and to strengthen these commitments over time. The Compact provides a means for developed countries to support developing countries in their mitigation and adaptation efforts, and provides a framework for transparent monitoring, reporting and tightening of countries` individual and collective climate goals. India`s INDC highlighted the challenges of eradicating poverty while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. About 24% of the world`s population without access to electricity (304 million) lived in India. Nevertheless, the country has planned to “reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% by 2030” compared to 2005 levels. The country has also tried to get about 40 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources rather than fossil fuels by 2030.
The INDC noted that implementation plans from domestic resources would not be affordable: it estimated that at least $2.5 trillion would be needed to achieve climate action by 2030. India would achieve this goal through technology transfer (the relocation of capacity and equipment from more developed to less developed countries [LDCs]) and international financing, including support from the Green Climate Fund (a programme designed to support populations vulnerable to the effects of climate change through investments in low-emission technologies and climate-resilient development). (a) To keep the increase in global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to continue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and effects of climate change; However, scientists point out that the Paris Agreement needs to be tightened if it is to have a chance of curbing dangerous climate change. Negotiators of the agreement noted that the INDCs presented at the Paris conference were inadequate and noted “with concern that the estimated aggregate levels of greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 and 2030 resulting from intended nationally determined contributions do not fall into the most cost-effective 2°C scenarios, but instead lead to a projected level of 55 gigatons in 2030.” and further acknowledging “that much greater efforts to reduce emissions will be needed to keep the global average temperature rise below 2°C by reducing emissions to 40 gigatons, or 1.5°C.” [25] [Clarification needed] Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to “keep the global average temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to strive to limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels”. While the overall intention to strengthen the global response to climate change is clear, the Paris Agreement does not specify exactly what is meant by “global average temperature” or what period of history should be considered “pre-industrial”. To answer the question of how close we are to the 1.5°C warming, we must first be clear about how the two terms are defined in this special report. The Paris Agreement is the culmination of a quarter century of international climate diplomacy launched with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Here is a brief summary of the evolution of global climate efforts and the role of the United States. Among other requirements, countries must report on their greenhouse gas inventories and progress towards their targets so that external experts can assess their success. Countries should also reconsider their commitments by 2020 and present new targets every five years to further reduce their emissions. They must participate in a “global stocktaking” to measure collective efforts to achieve the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement. In the meantime, developed countries must also estimate the amount of financial assistance they will provide to developing countries to help them reduce their emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.
Outside of formal intergovernmental negotiations, countries, cities and regions, businesses and members of civil society around the world are taking action to accelerate cooperative climate action in support of the Paris Agreement as part of the Global Climate Change Agenda. The UNFCCC has set itself the long-term goal of avoiding dangerous human interference in the climate system. To this end, the agreement: World leaders again adopted the Paris Agreement at COP 21 in Paris on 12 December 2015. The agreement is a blend of the “top-down” approach of Kyoto and the “bottom-up” approach of the Copenhagen and Cancún accords. It establishes common binding procedural obligations for all countries, but leaves it to each country to decide on their non-binding “Nationally Determined Contribution” (NDC). The agreement creates an improved transparency framework to track countries` actions and calls on countries to strengthen their NDCs every five years. The Paris Agreement has a “bottom-up” structure unlike most international environmental treaties, which are “top-down” and are characterized by internationally defined norms and goals that states must implement. [32] Unlike its predecessor, the Kyoto Protocol, which sets commitment-related targets with the force of law, the Paris Agreement, which emphasizes consensus-building, achieves voluntary and nationally defined targets.
[33] Specific climate goals are therefore promoted politically and are not legally linked. Only the processes that govern the preparation of reports and the consideration of these objectives are prescribed by international law. This structure is particularly noteworthy for the United States – since there are no legal mitigation or funding objectives, the agreement is considered an “executive agreement rather than a treaty.” Since the 1992 UNFCCC treaty received Senate approval, this new agreement does not need new congressional legislation to enter into force. [33] At the end of COP 21 (the 21st meeting of the Conference of the Parties presiding over the Conference) on 12 December 2015, the final text of the Paris Agreement was adopted by mutual agreement between all 195 States participating in the UNFCCC and the European Union[4] in order to reduce emissions under the greenhouse gas emission reduction approach. .
